The Word Hurricane
by decayANDescape
Summary: Art school student Bella & her older bro Emmett get caught in NYC during Hurricane Sandy. Will their Brooklyn apartment be enough to keep themselves occupied? Or will they have to make a call to Bella's bearded delivery man for some distractions? All human. Usual pairings. OOC. Beardward!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: HELLO HELLO HELLO!**

 **So, I know that I have to work on INTHETHAW, which has been neglected for a long-ass time. I actually started writing this a couple months ago, inspired by well...adulthood, life in NYC, whatever you wanna call it.**

 **I love me a good storm. I love it because I can lock myself inside my house with my friends and be bums and enjoy it together. Unfortunately, the past year/year and a half I haven't done so, due to the fact that life has been utter shit.**

 **So I'm getting it out of my system writing this adorable little rom-com esque story. This is my first time writing something like this and so be gentle please!**

 **FAIR WARNING. There is light drug use in this. There are many adult themes in this. This is a story about adults for adults. Even if it feels slightly silly at times. But a part of adulthood is dealing with this kind of shit. I am not sure what the rules are on FF (should've probably checked but eh), however seeing as I've read some crazy stories on this site about mobs (love the storm series), and straight-up murder, I think it should be fine.**

 **If you have an issue with that tho, please go elsewhere. Let's be realistic here.**

 **THAT BEING SAID.**

 **NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT NOR DO I EVER WANT TO. OR SUGAR RAY. OR THE EMPERORS NEW GROOVE. OR HEY ARNOLD.**

 **Aight we good? xoxo**

* * *

 _"_ _Let me repeat what I said earlier: This is a serious and dangerous storm. For those in Zone A, evacuation is mandatory. In or out of Zone A during the storm, however, the safest place to be is indoors."_

"Fuck." I muttered, listening to Mayor Bloomberg's warning. I looked out the window to see that it was still mucky and grey outside. It was only two in the afternoon, but it felt way later already. Clouds filled every inch of the sky, and I could see the trees in our backyard barely holding up against the wind. They whipped to and fro, making this weird swishing sound as the leaves slapped together.

I got up from my comfy spot on my bed and walked across the apartment to B's room. She was sitting at her desk with music on, humming along. I leaned against the door and watched her paint in her sketchbook, which was crammed to the edge of her tiny desk in front of her laptop.

"Are you listening to Sugar Ray?" I asked, with a small grin on my face.

"Fuck yeah I am." She retorted, dancing in her seat. "Iiiiiii just wanna fly a wikawikawikawikawaaahhh…"

"Put ya arms around me babehhh put ya arms around me babehhhh" I did my best Mark McGraff impression, making her snort. She smiled up at me, tossing her paintbrush into an old solo cup which I assumed was filled with dirty paint-water. "What's up?"

I shifted my weight on her doorframe. "You hear this shit about the hurricane?" I asked pointing over my shoulder at my room. Bella shook her head at me and opened up Facebook on her computer. She began quickly skimming the page and hitting the lower volume button until the music stopped completely.

"We have to evacuate?" she frowned at her screen. "What the hell is all this about zones?"

"There's a map. Google it. Maybe check Reddit?" I scrunched my nose and crossed her tiny room to plop down on her bed.

"Shit Em, we're in Zone B." She glanced at me.

"I know." I nudged her chair with my toe. "So what do you want to do?"

"Ugh, I'm super annoyed with Jasper for being out of town right now." she muttered, crossing her arms and turning to face me fully.

"Oh why? Because that fuck is down in Austin drinking the week away and swimming at Barton Springs?"

"Preeeecisely. Probably getting tons of booty too." She rolled her eyes and reached for an ornate metal box sitting on her bookshelf. She flipped the lid and began setting a small baggie, a pink plastic grinder, and a packet of rolling papers on her desk.

"Well. Ok, we could evacuate. I mean the news is saying we have to. I think I have a distant aunt who lives out in Jersey somewhere that we could stay with." I frowned at her and leaned back onto my elbows.

"Do you think that aunt would mind me bringing Yzma and Abner?" she pointed to her two fat cats who were lounging in her windowsill. One cat in each one. They both opened one eye at us for a moment and then went back to snoozing. Abner's ginger tail twitched slightly.

"Also, traffic is probably insane. I don't even wanna know what public transit is like." Bella said, laying out a rolling paper on a book.

"They shut down the subways already anyway."

"So that was a silly suggestion."

"Well I don't know! I'm kind of freaked out!" I threw my hands up at her. Bella sighed. She squinted at her little baggy of weed and seemed to decide to just finish it. It looked like it was mostly stems anyway. She emptied it out into her grinder, sealed it and began turning it while thinking.

"I think first things first, we should get one more delivery. Maybe go to the bodega? Get some provisions? I think I have a jar of almond butter in the fridge. That might last us like a day." She chuckled while slowly emptying it out. She neatly piled it into the rolling paper and folded it in half. I watched her for a moment and thought about our options and other preparations that we might have to make.

"We should probably tape the windows too." I said, watching her quickly roll it and seal it with her tongue. I dug my lighter out of my pocket and handed it to her.

"Yeah thats probably a good idea. Tape big X'es on the windows. And lets get enough junk food to last a couple days. I mean, it can't be that bad right?"

* * *

So, before I get any further into this story. Let me introduce myself. My name is Emmett McCarty, big bro extraordinaire to my step-sister Bella Swan. We both live in Bushwick, which is an area of North Brooklyn that's been getting progressively more gentrified these past few years. It's a mostly predominantly Spanish neighborhood still (the tacos here are fuckawesome), but ever since Williamsburg became the hip new place to live, all the artists and musicians are getting moved here or into Bed-Stuy (which I usually refer to as "Stabtown" for good reason).

Bella's a student at School of Visual Arts. She's in her junior year studying Illustration. It took a while to convince her dad to let her come out here. Charlie Swan is very protective of my baby sister. Me? Not so much. I'm a big guy, and he knows I can handle myself in almost any situation.

Bella had to beg and plead for him to allow her to go to school out here. She worked for a year after high school at Newton's Good's, all while trying to get her portfolio together the best she can. I know she busted her ass doing it. I watched her pull allnighters and work 40+ hours a week, just so she could save enough money and prove to Charlie that she was capable of any kind of stressful workload.

I know that Charlie wasn't doing it to be cruel. Washington and New York are across the country from each other, and after her mother up and left them when she was a baby, he's had some issues with separation anxiety. Until he met my mother he was constantly trying to shelter Bella. Little did he know my step-sister was a bit of a badass.

During my senior year of highschool, I caught her trying to sneak out of our house by shimming down the big oak tree outside her window. She was lucky I had my window open next to hers, because girl may not be clumsy, but upper body strength is something that needed to be worked on. She had zero. Zip. None whatsoever.

I convinced her to come inside and sneak out the back door, promising I'd cover for her. Her reason for leaving? To go make out with my best bud Jasper Hale in some parking lot by the beach. Jasper got some shit from me the next day about it, but we're good now. Besides, after the two of us moved to NYC and he met Bella's college best friend, whom he's been head over heels for her. Unfortunately Alice was dating some Lower East Side "musician" named James, and wouldn't even give Jasper the time of day.

So to drown his sorrows, he flew out to Austin to visit his childhood friend Maria who promised him nights of booze and desert weather. And ample amounts of booty.

Jasper was always a sucker for a girl with an accent.

Bella finally saved up enough money to get out from under our father's grasp. It probably also helped that my mom, the wonderful Sandra McCarty was there to ease his empty nest syndrome.

Charlie met my mom a few years ago when she picked up some shifts at The Lodge Diner in our town. I was a junior and Bella was a whee little freshman at Forks High. My dad had finally moved out, even though my parents had gotten divorced years ago. But they were amicable and we were able to live somewhat peacefully while I finished school. I'll always appreciate that about them.

Anyway, Forks was a small town, and for some reason my mom and Charlie had never crossed paths. But the moment he looked up from his laminated menu and locked eyes with my mom, it was a done deal. He asked her out before even asking for the check.

Six months later, my mom and I packed up our gear and moved into Charlie and Bella's big white house on the edge of town. I loved it. It was a fresh start for my mom - which was great because I hadn't seen her this happy in ages. And, I always wanted a younger sibling. A sister even. And Bella was chill. Beyond chill.

We didn't expect to get along at first. I knew it the moment she looked at me. We knew each other from school. I was the captain of the football team, and various other sports. And Bella I knew from her various art projects. One year for spirit week, she covered all four walls of the cafeteria with murals of certain areas of Forks and the history behind them. The faculty loved it so much that it's a permanent installation now.

I always thought Bella was a goodie-two-shoes with an artistic streak. At school (and at home) she was always quiet and had her nose either buried in some literature or in her sketchbook. But surprisingly, after we saw how much an effect my mom had on her dad, we warmed up to each other. Sure we still tease each other and poke fun, but somewhere along the way we both came to appreciate each other and learn to become siblings. It wasn't the worst adjustment, and I've definitely heard horror stories about step-kids that were way worse. I mean c'mon, Will Ferrell even made a movie about it.

When I found out that Bella had tried weed, I really tried to be mad at her. And for a split-second I was. We were at the same bonfire out in the woods that the Quiluete kids were throwing. Bella's childhood friend Jake had wanted her to come because he's had his sights on her since they were toddlers. He supplied the ganje.

I found Bella eventually lying on First Beach with Jacob next to her, staring up at the stars and giggling up a storm. In that moment I was pissed. I saw Jake's hand creeping up her shirt and I knew that I had to do something. Bella had always kept him at arms length for a reason, and I knew that she wouldn't want this.

So I caused a big scene. I dragged her away from him and threw her into my Jeep and got us home. Luckily my mother and Charlie were having their weekly "date night" in Port Angeles, so I got Bella in the shower and into bed relatively early. She got up a couple times in the night to puke and I was right there with her, handing her cups of water and saltines.

I guess there was beer at the bonfire too.

But in the morning, when she came downstairs with her eyes red and puffy, I knew I didn't have to talk to her about it. She looked at me with a lot of regret, but thanked me for being there. Our parents were sleeping in (as they did after date nights), so we had a quiet morning chat over cereal and coffee. She asked me if I had done it, I did. And I told her truthfully that I did it recreationally. She asked me if one day we could do it together and I was hesitant at first. But then she told me that regardless she was gonna try it again anyway, because she was curious and wanted to see what it was like without the effects of alcohol. I reluctantly told her I would with time.

So we're two big ol' potheads now. No I'm just kidding. We smoke here and there. But I have a big-boy job at one of the major gym chains that I have to get up ass-crack early for, so I try to take it easy on the weed smoking. Bella on the other hand, when she's out of school and done with all her insanely hard assignments, is living it up. She's enjoying her life here, and that makes me happy.

She also freelances already, which is how she makes money for all that partying. Charlie gave her a credit card that was for "food + emergencies only". And she also wanted to start making her way in the world. On top of being an amazing student and awesome artist, she also works part time at an art supply store in the city. She says it pays well (it does), and she likes her co-workers, somewhat.

She met her other best friend in the city there too. Finn is a product design student at Parsons, and he's over almost all the time. He lives three blocks away, and they're always together. He'll probably join us for the storm.

* * *

After we finished the j, I went back to my room to grab a hoodie and my keys. Bella threw on her old Docs and met me by the front door where her small wallet and jacket were hanging on some wall hooks.

"Shit." she muttered, digging through her wallet. Abner wrapped his tail around her legs, mewling.

"I need to go to the ATM."

"Cool." I said, opening the door for her. She nudged her cat out the way and stepped out.

When we got outside we could barely hear ourselves talk. The wind was fucking insane. So bad that I wrapped my arm around her protectively immediately. Bella is so little, I could see her getting swept up with all the plastic bags and trash flying around. No fucking way was I gonna let that happen.

We walked around the corner to BofA and I waited with her in the vestibule while she took out cash. The streets were deserted. I watched stores being boarded up with plywood whilst humming along to the jazz version of some Katy Perry song that the bank still had playing for some reason. The clouds grew darker and the wind picked up. Some younger kids ran by laughing and screaming, covering their heads with their jackets.

We pushed through the winds and decided instead of going to the bodega, we should walk to the grocery store. I could see other people our age briskly walking (or running) back to their homes holding tote bags full of beer and necessary items. Bella texted her dealer while we did. Or tried to.

"Fuck, I can barely see!" she yelled over the howling wind. She gripped her phone in her hand like her life depended on it.

"WHAT?!" I yelled back.

"NEVERMIND. I'M GONNA ASK FOR A G!" She yelled again.

"OKAY!" I yelled back. "DO YOU THINK HE'LL EVEN BE WORKING?"

"THE FUCK IF I KNOW WE DIDN'T PLAN AHEAD!" True. I shrugged and squeezed her tighter to my side as she pushed through to the glowing lights of Associated Market.

The moment we stepped inside it was almost silent save for the automatic doors opening and closing. People were focused, running in and out of aisles with their arms full of soda and junk food. Some rational adults had actual groceries and maybe a case of beer.

Bella and I looked at each other. We stood there for a moment in the produce section, watching people slam into each other almost repeatedly. But no one was aggressive about it. Everyone was in panic mode.

We grabbed what we could as quick as we could. This is what we made it out with :

 _2 boxes of pasta + one jar of sauce_  
 _1 carton of eggs_

 _1 dented box of Capt'n Crunch_

 _1 small carton of soy milk_

 _4 frozen pizzas - various kinds (our options were limited)_

 _5 bruised apples_

 _6 very mushy avocados (B loves em)_

 _1 case of bottled water if needed_

 _1 flashlight and battery pack_

 _5 prayer candles_

 _5 candy bars of the chocolate variety_

 _1 six pack of frozen chicken breast_

 _1 big bag of rice_

 _1 bundle of wilted kale_

 _2 cases of beer (PBR + Brooklyn Ale)_

The aisles were in a sad state. So we had to improvise and improvise fast. We paid and asked if we could borrow a cart to bring our groceries home. The clerk was not amused and dumped our groceries quickly into weak plastic bags before ushering us out.

* * *

When we got back to the apartment and emptied all the food into the fridge, Bella's phone went off. It was Eye of the Tiger, which is the ringtone she gave her dad. She groaned.

"Fuck. He's probably seeing the news." She looked at me and I shrugged.

"Fuck. Fuck. Ok. Fuck. Ok." she stared at her phone which had now decided to loop the chorus again.

"Fuck…..Hello?" I could hear Charlie immediately. He was so loud she just put him on speaker.

"ISABELLA MARIE! What is this I'm hearing about a Hurricane?! Where's Emmett!?"

"Right here Chief."

"I'm on speaker?"

"Yessir."

"Ok. What zone are you kids in?" I rolled my eyes.

"Charlie, it's ok. We're in zone B."

"NO. Zone B is **not okay! You have to evacuate!** " I could almost see clearly the vein in his forehead protruding. It happened when he got worked up, which was not too often.

"Dad…I'm fine." Bella said in a small voice. "We're gonna tape up the windows and stay in the living room mostly. I'll be okay."

"Bella, if there's flooding you get to higher ground immediately. You understand me? If the water reaches you, who knows what might happen?"

"Dad…"

"No Isabella, I don't want to hear it. Emmett, if it's not safe there, you'll take her kicking and screaming. You hear me boy? The news is saying that Bloomberg will be speaking soon. But it looks like the subways and bridges are going to be shut down." Bella and I glanced at each other. She looked scared for a moment. I nodded and cleared my throat.

"Yes sir I will."

"Dad what about Abner and Yzma? I can't just leave them here."

"Well obviously honey. Shove them in a backpack and bring them." Bella snorted. Her phone dinged to show that she had a message.

 _On my way - Ed_

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Charlie barked. We both jumped.

"Dad, I got a text." Bella rolled her eyes at me again.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me young lady. Who on earth is texting you **now?** Emmett, you call me and keep me posted on everything, understand?"

"Yes, I will Charlie. I promise."

"Dad, I can text you too." Bella retorted, crossing her arms.

"Sure, sure." he grunted. "I love you kids. You be safe."

"We will." we said together. He hung up.

"Jesus." Bella said, staring down at her phone. "I didn't know that the bridges were shut down."

"I didn't either. Maybe we should turn on the news?" Bella was biting her lip. I plopped down on the couch and clicked on the TV.

 _"_ _The Mayor just a little while ago said, "This is a mandatory evacuation for Zone A. Anyone who is living by the water in an area that floods, those are areas you_ ** _must_** _evacuate by 7pm tonight. The buildings in those low lying areas will make sure the elevators are not working. You need to get out before 7 'o clock."_

Bella sat down on the couch next to me and handed me a beer. I popped it open as we watched footage of the storm barreling it's way towards us.

* * *

 **So there you go! Chapter one is up. Which means I gotta finish this now. Here goes nothing. Leave me some love. I sure could use it. xoxo.**


	2. Chapter 2

**HELLO HELLO**

 **Thank you all so much for your reviews and for recommending this fic. I was completely surprised when I saw that in the reviews and it really made my day. Thank you.**

 **So I think as far as updating goes, schedule wise it might take longer than I thought. Juggling two fics is no picnic when you have to add real life to it too y'know? Please bear with me and be patient.**

 **I'd rather give you quality vs quantity, na mean?**

 **THAT BEING SAID.**

 **NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. I DONT OWN TWILIGHT AND WILL NEVER WANT TO.**

 **Cheers.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2.**

I don't know how long we sat there for, but our buzzer suddenly rang.

"Yo!" Bella said, holding the unlock button. We heard the buzzer from downstairs go off, and then sounds of struggle with a nice background of shrieking winds and rumblings of thunder. I winced at the noise until the door downstairs slammed shut. It sounded really bad out there, and that was even just through the intercom. From our apartment we mostly heard faint winds and maybe the sound of a car splashing by here and there.

Bella fumbled for her wallet and propped the door open, causing the cats to come waddling out to greet our visitor. We could hear him trudging up the tiny winding staircases with his bike, which he very loudly threw down next to our door before shuffling inside. The cats ran away immediately.

Pussies.

Heh. Get it?

"Holy shit!" Edward exclaimed, closing the door behind him. I saw that he was soaked head to foot and almost shivering. Bella immediately went into the bathroom to grab him a towel.

"Thanks." He grunted, wiping his beard off. I got up from my spot on the couch and went over to greet him. We shook hands briefly before he went back to toweling himself off.

"Sup E?" I asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Fuck this mess outside. It's fucking freezing." He grumbled, taking off his black hoodie and wringing it out over the kitchen sink. He tossed it onto his already soaked backpack, which the cats were poking their noses into.

"How you been Emmett?" he asked as I handed him a beer.

"Status quo." I said. He thanked me for the PBR, popping it open and immediately taking a long swig from it.

"What about you B?" He asked, turning to her. Bella was standing as nonchalantly as possible for someone who was trying to hide a crush. So, not very subtle. She was leaning against her bedroom door in a very posed way. I noticed a faint blush in her cheeks when she looked at him and shrugged in what she must have thought was an air of nonchalance.

"Same." She said. "Avoiding the outdoors. It's dangerous out there." She quirked a brow at him.

"I can see that." He smirked at her. I rolled my eyes at them and sat back down on the couch. These fucking two. Bella has had the weirdest crush on our dealer for the longest time. I swear he could just sell us stems and she would still call him to tell him how his rank ass weed was the best in the city.

"I can't believe you're working today." I said, taking a sip out of my beer.

"Honestly, I had no idea this storm was coming. My roommates at his girlfriends for the weekend and I don't really keep up with the news."

"Not even NPR?" Bella asked, genuinely curious.

"Only on roadtrips." Edward went and put his now soaked towel back on the bathroom door rack. Bella quickly took it from him and went into her room to put it on her radiator by her windows which were darkening by the second. I swear I saw a trashcan fly by her window as lightning flashed. Cringing at the rumbling from outside, I made my way back into our living room and threw myself on the couch and turned on the XBOX. Edward came over and sat his wet ass down next to me.

"Bro - I can lend you some sweats or something if you wanna dry off for a bit." I pointedly glanced down at the already seeping wet spot forming. He didn't seemed too phased by it, which annoyed me to no end. I know this shit is IKEA but c'mon respect the space.

"Where do you live anyway? They issued evacuation zones." Bella called from her room. Edward glanced at the direction of her voice and looked back at me. I raised my brows and nodded.

"Yeah dude, this shit is fucking serious." I pointed at the muted television screen, which now showed footage of some poor anchorman standing by the East River getting whipped in the face with rainwater. He looked like he was about to fly away, and the camera kept panning down to his legs which were already standing in what looked like a foot of flooding water.

"I live in Crown Heights. What zone is that?"

"Uhhh….." we both heard Bella typing on her laptop. "It's Zone C!"

"Ok. Shit. Fuck. Shit." Edward checked his phone, which had no notifications but a photo of some kind of painting. His battery icon was blinking red too. He cleared his throat and pressed the hold button.

"Well, yeah Em if I could borrow something to wear while my clothes dry, that would be great. I can just take the train home later and pick up my bike tomorrow."

"No dice bro. The trains are shut down. You're stuck here, unless you wanna try biking through a river. Maybe you can just use it as a float and ride it home." I quipped, getting up to go to my room.

"Fucking great." I heard him mumble. Chuckling, I rummaged through my dresser quickly and found some options. I tossed him some old (but clean) sweats and a hoodie. Edward quickly excused himself into our bathroom to change, while Bella placed a clean towel on his spot on the couch. She then sat down on top of it and opened her wallet. Alrighty, down to business already.

When Edward came out of the bathroom in my sweats, I took his wet clothes from him and put them on my radiators in my room. That method probably sounds borderline medieval but I swear with the crazy heaters here it totally works. Give it like an hour tops. Besides it's not like he could go anywhere for the time being.

Edward saw that Bella had her wallet in hand along with her tiny glass one-hitter and got the hint. He went over to his giant black backpack and unrolled the top, pulling out tupperware containers full of glorious ganja.

"You wanted a gram right?" he asked, pulling out a scale.

"Actually…..Can I get a G of NYC Diesel and a ounce of Girl Scout Cookies?" Bella asked. I nudged her with a grin. She knew I loved that Girl Scout Cookie shit.

"Yeah that's fine." Edward said, picking out the right containers and popping them open. He came over to the coffee table and set down the scale and plopped down on the floor. The entire house started to reek of weed the second he opened one of the containers. It was immediately calming, I'm not gonna lie.

We quietly watched him measure the proper amounts and deposit them into little baggies. The rest of it was wrapped in layers of plastic wrap, two ziplock bags, and placed back into the containers, which he left stacked on the floor next to the couch.

"Come here Yzma!" Bella chirped, when her fat black cat made her way into the room. I swear these cats love pot more than the both of us. They always know when we're about to smoke.

Edward made some noises to coax her towards him, but Yzma sat in the kitchen area with her big blue eyes narrowed at us.

"Sorry, she's not very social." Bella commented, after watching his failed attempts at getting Yzma's attention.

"It's probably the beard." he responded, drumming his fingers on the floor. "Psst. Pssssst. C'mere kitty."

"Yzma, get over here." Bella demanded. Yzma's tail twitched as she gazed lazily at Bella. Not gonna happen.

Giving up, Bella opened the smaller baggie and emptied some weed into her grinder. I got up to put my empty beer can in the recycling, and asked them if they both wanted another one.

"Actually, I'm good. But can you put the pot on the stove Em? I wanna make some food."

"You got it, Smells." I used Bella's nickname that she hated just so I could see her face turn bright red. Too easy. I know, I'm a jerk. She shot me a look that said, _You'll pay for that._ Edward chuckled and emptied his beer.

"I'll take another PBR." He said, wiggling his empty can at me. I held my hand out for it and he tossed it over his shoulder.

* * *

An hour later, the pasta was in our largest pot bubbling away, and the house was sufficiently smokey. I had turned on our vinyl player, which was playing quietly into our speakers. Bella chose Johnny Cash for some reason, which now we all had to endure while she sang along off-key here and there. Edward was on the couch next to Bella, fiddling with my XBOX controllers and she was happily watching the screen with Yzma the fatty in her lap.

I stirred the pasta with our one wooden spoon and texted Jasper.

 _Hope Texas is warm and fun you motherfucker_

He responded pretty quickly with a photo of some tits in a bikini top. They were shining from what I hoped was sunscreen and direct sunlight. Lovely.

 _Thanks. Hope that's Maria._

Dick.

All of a sudden this loud shrieking noise filled the apartment. It was simultaneous and came from my hand, the coffee table, and Edwards pocket.

"What the fuck?!" Bella jumped up and grabbed her phone. I checked mine too and read -

" **Emergency Alert**

Get indoors immediately and remain inside. DO NOT DRIVE. Call 9-1-1 for emergencies only."

"Holy shit." Edward said, looking over Bella's shoulder. He turned the XBOX off and turned the news back on.

"Oh my god…" Bella gasped staring at the screen. It seemed like a crane in Midtown Manhattan came loose. It was sitting on top of a skyscraper, which is scary as fuck. I hoped immediately that everyone in that area was okay and kept watching the updates.

A building in Chelsea had collapsed. And the Hudson was flooding into lower Manhattan and filling the tunnels. This was fucking scary. I immediately abandoned the pot of pasta and ran into Bella's room to look out the windows.

It was dark, but not nighttime dark. It was ominous and grey outside. Trees were losing branches, they were flying by at lightning speed while rain poured down in buckets. Our street was already a stream running into the main road, and I could see bits of trash and debris making their way down with the water. The glass was rattling in the window panes, and suddenly the cats were both nowhere to be found. I was pretty sure they were hiding in Bella's closet.

"B! We gotta tape the windows!" I yelled over my shoulder. I heard her get up and turn off the stove before running into her room. She handed me a roll of blue painters tape and we immediately went to work making large Xes with it from the top corners of the windows to the bottom. We could hear the sound of newscasters from the TV, shouting to be heard over the winds.

"Does that actually work? Edward asked, the air of complete calm.

"The fuck if I know. It's something right? I don't want this shit getting blown out!" I snapped, tearing another large piece off. He shrugged and went back to sipping his beer.

"Should we tape Jasper's too?" Bella asked when we were done. I nodded, and we ran up the small metal staircase into his room to repeat the process.

Our apartment layout is pretty standard for these old Bushwick buildings. It's railroad style, so the living room and kitchen are in the middle, which is the safest part of the house. There's one bedroom on the far side (mine), and the other side by the kitchen area has two rooms stacked over the other with a tiny metal staircase leading up (Bella's & Jasper's). Our ceilings are super tall, and the space is fairly narrow. It's not much, but it's home. It's comfortable. And for the most part the giant windows are great.

Not when there's a fucking hurricane trying to take out all of New York City though.

Jasper's windows were smaller, so we quickly finished and left his freakishly clean room and made our way back downstairs to Edward who was texting furiously on his phone. Bella went back into the kitchen to finish making pasta and I trailed her, wanting to give him some privacy.

"Hey so…" We both jumped at the sound of his voice. Dude was so quiet, he was right behind us.

"What's up?" Bella asked a little too brightly. She looked a little nervous and a little hopeful.

"Would it be cool if I…rode this out with you guys?" Edward asked, scratching his beard. Bella lit up like the Fourth of July.

"Of course! I mean yeah, totally. I mean, you have to right?" She turned back to the pasta. Edward looked at me like he was asking if she was okay. I nodded.

"You're good man. The more the merrier."

* * *

 **leave some love! or hate! just don't be a pussy about it xoxo**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N : Hello hello! Thank you so much for finding this silly little story. It's definitely been interesting working on, and it's requiring some discipline to write it. It's been a great exercise, and I'm happy with what's happening so far.**

 **That being said, I want to thank you all for your patience and support again. I sound like a broken record I know, but it means a lot to me that you even care about the weird shit that happens in my head.**

 **I listened to the Dark & Stormy playlist on Spotify while writing this. Lots of Hozier. If you haven't heard of him, do yourself a favor and listen to him. He's dark and dramatic and wonderful. **

**NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT NOR ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK.**

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Chapter 3.

"So, the penguin says, dude, he's not an eggplant. He's retarded!" Bella snorted with laughter while spitting the punchline of her favorite joke. I chuckled along, as I do whenever I hear this one. She's told it so many times in my company, but I knew she appreciated the meek chuckle that escaped me.

I don't know. I don't think it's very funny necessarily? But Bella loves it, she tells it to everyone and anyone. I've learned to laugh at the right times. She gets real aggressive when people don't find it funny. She's definitely started at least one fight at a bar because of a lack of appreciation. Of all the things to get agitated about.

However, Edward apparently had never heard this joke before, and he was on his back on the floor, roaring with laughter. He was muffling his mouth with a wad of Monopoly money, and I swear I saw tears in his eyes that he used the bills to wipe with. I cocked a brow at him to say, _"Bro, take it down a notch."_ which caused him to sit up almost immediately and clear his throat.

These two have been spitting out their best jokes since we sat down to play. We've barely made it around the board once. Currently, Bella the boot was sitting on St. Charles Place, and Edward the tophat was already in jail.

I took another swig out of what was now my fifth beer, and rolled the dice.

"Yes! Six! Park Place bitches. It's miiiiine." I sang, slapping the bills down in front of Bella. "Banker, my card please."

She tossed it to me with a giggle while I moved my little metal dog to the right box. I was gonna kick their asses in no time.

I know, it's kind of an outdated way to kill the time. But it was the best option we had as far as entertainment goes. Our power kept flickering in and out, so watching Netflix or beating Castle Crashers for the umpteenth time just didn't seem worth it. We'd get settled into watching something and then the lights would flicker and the XBOX would shut off.

Bella didn't give up on the vinyl player though. It just turned back on by itself when the power came back on. The XBOX would restart and it became an ordeal every time. We even gave up on resetting the clocks too, they were stuck at 8:08pm and after the third flicker we figured it wasn't worth it. Currently we had turned on an old Melanie record that kept skipping. But her quirky voice was providing a nice background and made the winds and rain sound more pleasant than they actually did.

We decided that Edward would stay in Jasper's room without even asking (fuck him, he's in Texas). Bella was over the moon, and for the most part playing it cool. I knew how her mind worked, and she was gonna see if they could stay up late together while I turned in early. Or something. I saw her scheming whenever she was lost in thought while cooking. I was turning into a third wheel real fast, and was so thankful that I had a good book waiting for me in my room.

We ate some pasta after smoking, and watched some more news but eventually the stress of the storm was wearing us out. Footage of subways filling with water made us all uneasy. Power was starting to go out all over New York, and even newscasters weren't venturing outside. Lincoln Tunnel looked like the inside of the Titanic. The carousel at the Brooklyn promenade was slowly submerging into water. It was still lit up even with all the flooding, and the sight was unsettling.

This weed was pretty lit though, not gonna lie. It definitely helped our moods.

The storm was here. Edward was stuck, voluntarily or not. We were all stuck here, and we had to make the best of it.

Charlie stopped calling and texting once he realized that our apartment was essentially a fortress. He checked in on us once in a while, but I'm pretty sure my mom calmed his fears too. Besides, I was with Bella, and he knew that with us together, we'd be able to tackle on anything.

We didn't tell him that our lovely pot-dealer was staying with us though.

Empty cans of PBR were overflowing from the already full trash bin, so I got up to empty it out and set the bag in the hall. I wasn't gonna risk going out in the storm to toss it, and saw that our neighbors had done the same. We had a half eaten bowl of guac sitting on the counter, so I threw that in the fridge while grabbing another drink. I knew when Bella picked up those overly ripe avocados, her famous guacamole would be making an appearance. Edward even asked if he could take some home with him after the storm and she happily packed him a separate container.

For the next hour or so, we killed the time playing a very serious game of Monopoly. It ended with Bella winning and I flipped the board over in frustration while she giggled with glee. She tossed her fake money in the air too, just to rub it in my face. I grumbled along, cleaning up the pieces and putting them back into the container. Edward helped me with a small smile on his face, while Bella kicked back on the couch and demanded we bring her a drink when we finished cleaning up.

I had just handed her another beer when it happened. Lighting flashed so brightly above our skylight that it lit up the whole apartment. We all stopped what we were doing to look up but it happened so fast it doesn't matter. One second, thunder was crashing so loudly we all yelped in surprise, and then we were plunged into darkness.

"Fuck!" I immediately felt my way into the kitchen, accidentally tripping over something. I heard a hiss and an angry meow.

"Sorry Yzma." I grunted, stumbling with my hand outstretched so I didn't hit the counter facefirst. I heard Bella and Edward standing up behind me, and trying to find each other so they could come towards the kitchen. I fumbled for the right drawer and yanked it open.

"Oh my god there was an explosion." Bella said, I saw her face lit up from her iPhone screen. "Fuck, my battery's gonna die soon."

"What?! Where?!" I asked, pushing utensils aside. I felt a cockroach crawl by my hand and slammed my fist down on it, hearing it crunch under my palm. I washed my hands in the dark and looked towards Bella. Everything was pitch black but her small face, glowing blue.

"The Conedison plant in the city. Holy fuck." Bella said, I saw her scrolling down what was probably Facebook. "All of lower Manhattan is out of power."

"Jesus fucking christ, that's so scary." Edward mumbled. I saw his bronze hair approaching Bella's side as he looked over onto her screen.

I finally found what I was looking for inside the drawer and held it up victoriously. It was a pack of emergency matches I had once ordered off some website like six months ago. I love survivalist shit, and figured one day I would need it. Bella busted my balls about it, so of course right now I was feeling extremely triumphant.

I lit one with a loud scratch and held it up.

"I fucking told you these would come in handy!" I exclaimed, holding the long matchstick under my face. "Boo."

"Emmett! Cut that shit out and find the candles!" Bella snapped. She sounded a little scared. "Who is that?! Yzma? Is that you?" A small meow responded and I heard her pick up her little fatty. "It's okay baby, mama's right here. Don't be scared."

KER-CRASH!

Thunder rumbled again, causing Bella to gasp and Edward to exclaim. Bella came and huddled next to me. I could tell she was scared and gave her a comforting nudge. Edward quietly joined us.

"Jesus fuck, I am so glad I'm inside right now." He muttered. He sounded like he was to my right, and Bella to my left.

"Em, get the fucking candles!" She whined, shifting her weight against the counter while holding her ginormous behemoth of a cat. Yzma had her claws digging into Bella's shoulder and I swear I could hear her wincing.

"I'm trying! Where the fuck did you put them!?" The match was now burning fairly close to my fingers, so I put it out and lit another one.

"They're on the counter by the sink." I found them and quickly made work of lighting them. They were a variety of colors and had pictures of saints and Jesus and other religious figures on them. Bella loved those candles and bought them constantly. It was weird that we didn't have anymore in the house, actually.

"Hey do you guys have a flashlight?" Edward asked. I tossed him one, and he turned to Bella. "You have tape left over right?"

"Yeah?" I handed her a candle, which lit her very confused face. Yzma leapt out of Bella's arms and skittered into her room.

"Can you go get it? I can make a lantern out of this and that water jug." He pointed to one of Jaspers many Poland Spring jugs that he insisted on buying. Jasper, ever the non-New Yorker at heart, refused to drink the tap water here. Even though NYC is known for hour clean our tap water is. Bella and I refused to get a Brita filter, so instead of just buying one himself, Jasper bought those jugs nearly daily at our bodega. He said it was easier and cheaper, but that doesn't make any sense to me. So now, we had a bunch stacked by the end of the counter, 'cause that hippie bitch also wanted to recycle all of them. I grabbed one and filled it with the tap while Bella ran into her room to grab the tape sitting on her windowsill.

When she came back out, we stood around Edward as he wrapped the tape around the jug multiple times with the flashlight pointing into the bottle. I had seen shit like this on the internet and was equally fascinated. I hoped it would work.

He turned on the flashlight and we suddenly didn't have to rely on candles entirely. The light was dim, but it was enough that we could see around the house safely. And with the candles it was almost like we had some power.

"Awesome!" I slapped Edward a high five, and he grinned sleepily back at me. Bella looked like he just fucking saved a busload of orphan kids while fighting aliens or something. She was in awe. Or maybe she was just stoned. Or both? Probably both.

We went to work making a couple more out of Jasper's weird stockpile of jugs, and whatever battery powered light emitting objects we had. I remembered that Charlie had sent us both night lights that were solar powered (we never used them), and grabbed them from both our rooms. We dug through Jaspers room and found an extra flashlight and an Altoid's tin that was labeled "emergency". Turns out it was a makeshift candle, which I thought was really cool. Bella mentioned wanting to learn how to make those, and I made a mental note for us to do it when the storm passed.

Soon enough, the house was almost back to normal. Except now all we _really_ had was each others company. Bella's laptop was almost fully charged, so we saved that just in case we got really desperate and had to watch some South Park reruns.

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"How did you learn to do that?" Bella asked, when we were all back by the coffee table. Edward shrugged. "I watch a lot of DIY videos online."

"Same here." I nodded at him. "I get it. You gotta know your shit, just in case. Also, Youtube blackholes are totally a real thing. Once I spent hours watching things move in slow motion. Shit got weird real fast."

Bella snorted. She was sitting on one side of the couch while Edward was next to her. I was sitting on the floor this time, facing them, while rolling a joint.

"So, what do you guys wanna do now that we have enough light to at least see each other?" I asked, licking the joint shut.

"We have Cards Against Humanity…" Bella started, looking at us both. Edward yawned, and I stifled one too. "But maybe we should take a break from the games."

"Yeah, wouldn't want Em flipping the table this time." Edward said with a small grin. I flipped him off.

"Hmmm…." Bella thought for a second. And I swear I saw the wheels in her head turning. "What about drinking games? Do you know any?" She turned to Edward.

He shrugged. "Just the usual. Kings. Quarters. Never Have I Ever."

"Ok so that's a bust…" She said, leaning back on the couch. Edward shrugged.

"You're a man of little words aren't you?" I asked, fumbling for my lighter. He nodded.

"Did you want to call anyone? Roommates? Family?" Bella asked. She seemed embarrassed that she just realized to ask that. He shook his head.

"No, that's really ok. I have my phone on me and I already texted my mom." Bella nodded, satisfied.

"Where is she?" She asked, turning towards him.

"Jersey." he said tersely. Bella frowned. I think she wanted him to elaborate.

"Whereabouts Jersey?" she tried again. Edward shifted uncomfortably for a second but replied.

"Clifton."

"Oh, okay." Like she knew where that was.

"It's not too far from the city. Kind of central." She nodded.

"What does she do?" I asked, suddenly curious. Edward looked uncomfortable and a little sad for a moment, but then his expression smoothed out.

"She's a librarian." He said, leaning forward to take the joint from me.

"Oh! That's kind of adorable." Bella said, watching him take a deep hit and hold it in his lungs. He took a second before expelling all the smoke in one breath while nodding.

"Sure." he said, passing the J to her. Bella took a couple of quick puffs which she held in until she started coughing. Shit, she was trying to get baaaaaked. I took the J out of her hand and took a hit before telling Edward about our parents too. Tit for tat.

After we got sufficiently high, I decided to call it a night. I was a couple beers deep already, and feeling a bit weary. It wasn't too late, only midnight actually. But I was tired from all the craziness and I knew Bella wanted to have her moment alone with Edward. It was fun watching her squirm for it, even if I wanted it for her too. Bella wasn't the kind of girl who hooked up with anyone she found remotely attractive. She's had romances before, but they always fizzled when she realized the other persons incompatibilities. She was picky in her own way and she definitely had a type, if you'd believe it.

Scruffy dudes in flannel seemed to be the pattern, but something was different with this one. Maybe its because he wasn't blonde like the rest of them. Her last one Jamie was a fucking doozy.

I started getting ready for bed. I had an extra toothbrush under my sink, so I tossed it to Edward and told him he was welcome to use my shower in the morning if he didn't want to use Bella's strawberry shampoo. He smiled in thanks and nodded. I waved goodnight to them both and went to close my door.

The last thing I saw was Bella turning towards Edward on the couch with a shy smile on her face.

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 **Next chapter will be a Bella POV! Surprise surprise! Leave me some love. Or hate. Or both. Just don't be a pussy about it.**


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